Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone Thursday night outlined the city's plans to incorporate into its public planning the aims of Shape Up Somerville, the Tufts-based obesity-prevention program.
Curtatone, who is serving his fourth term as Somerville's mayor and intends to run for re-election in the fall, spoke in Paige Hall's Terrace Room, in a lecture sponsored by the TuftScope Journal of Health, Ethics, and Policy.
Shape Up Somerville is a community-wide anti-obesity movement that began with a study conducted by researchers from Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Curtatone said in his lecture that the program has continuously informed Somerville's health policies. The city is now redesigning its public spaces in an attempt to facilitate physical activity.
"It started affecting our development strategy — we started planning more strategically for our different squares," Curtatone said.
Curtatone said his plan to make Somerville more pedestrian-friendly is part of an effort to encourage healthy habits among its residents.
In the past year, the city has introduced a bicycling program in Somerville schools and has created more than 10 miles of bike lanes on its streets, a project Curtatone said will continue into this year.
In addition, updates to the city's roads and sidewalks, as well as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's planned extension of the Green Line through Somerville and Medford, will encourage fitness and improve pedestrian access in one of the country's densest cities, Curtatone said.
"When the Green Line comes through the city we'll have more than 80 percent of the city within walking distance of a transit stop," he said.
Shape Up Somerville's initial survey, conducted in 2003 by Friedman School researchers, found that 46 percent of Somerville's first-, second- and third-graders were either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
Curtatone said that the figure could be partially attributed to an increased reliance on automobiles that started in the mid-20th century. The shift made driving more common than walking, and the subsequent development of the area's highways pushed sources of fresh food further away from Somerville's center and changed the quality of life for its residents, he said.
"People had a difficult time getting to the wholesome food choices … you saw more fast-food choices come up; you saw more liquor stores," he said. "Our streets became dirty, there were more chemicals in the air, cars driving around outside; walking was no longer an option because you put yourself at risk."
Curtatone said Shape Up Somerville also prompted updates to the meal programs in Somerville's schools, encouraging them to offer fresh fruit and vegetables and train the schools' cooks to prepare nutritious meals.
Following those changes, three Somerville schools earned Healthier U.S. School Challenge awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
University President Lawrence Bacow in his introduction at the event praised Shape Up Somerville as the model for similar efforts across the nation.
Curtatone last year delivered the keynote address at the launch of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative, a nationwide program which aims to eliminate childhood obesity.
Curtatone said the city's policies to encourage nutrition and physical activity do not impose new burdens on the city budget.
"A lot of the decisions at the end of the day do not have a financial impact," he said. "We spend the least per capita out of any city in Massachusetts of a population of 50 thousand or more."
Curtatone said the city finances its fitness and health initiatives by efficiently reallocating funds already in the budget.
"For crosswalk painting, you can use more reflective painting, and not do as many in one year but do a few that will last a little longer," he said. "It's really the same money, moved around."
Somerville and Tufts have in the past decade benefited from partnership, Curtatone said.
"We understand the resources we have available here," Curtatone told the Daily after the lecture.
